Industrial minerals and rocks are the staff of life, the bread and butter of the mineral world.
- H. Wesley Peirce (1986)

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How Arizona ranks in the U.S.? *

1st in pumice & pumicite

2nd in construction-grade sand & gravel;

3rd in production of perlite;

4th in Zeolites;

6th in dimension stone;

10th in production of lime.

And a significant producer of, in descending order of value, portland cement, crushed stone, and masonry cement.

* Of course, Arizona’s copper production remains the highest in the nation; we are 3rd in molybdenum and 7th in silver. (Source: USGS Minerals Yearbook 2005)

Gold glitters! But in Arizona, it’s the industrial minerals that shine – to the tune of 1.7 billion dollars in 2007 (Source: Niemuth, 2008). If copper is the thoroughbred of the Arizona mineral industry, industrial minerals are surely the workhorse.

The sand, gravel, and broken and splintered rock that blanket the Arizona landscape – collectively referred to as aggregate -- are a mineral bonanza. And every building activity, from homes to industrial buildings, to roads and bridges, includes these natural stone and mineral products.

Of the more than 400 active mines in Arizona in 2007, most quarry industrial minerals. And as frequently as not, it’s the geologic mapping and reports of the Arizona Geological Survey (AZGS) that sheds first light on these valuable rock products. Exploration geologists pore over our surficial geologic maps for the key to economic mineral deposits. (Check out some free related downloads to the right)

Now we freely admit that Arizona does lack a few industrial minerals. Several years ago, for instance, we received a request from Japan for quartz-free andesite; apparently, it’s the preferred whetstone for samurai swords. We have yet to locate a deposit of quartz-free andesite, but we are still on the hunt.